Event planning is still in progress, and this page will be updated as events are scheduled.

Talks and Workshops

Come to hear engaging discussions on topics across the demoscene.

Emulating Crazy BBC Micro Tricks

Former Google coder Matt Godbolt may code for a trading firm during the day, but at night he hacks on emulators for various computers and consoles from his childhood in the UK. Come listen as he regales tales of his emulator JSBeeb, a BBC Micro emulator. He'll tell us why emulating the "beeb" feels like a fight between him and super smart people from the 1980s, and how many of them have become his friends as a result!

Fujitsu Micros of My Youth

In 1981, Fujitsu introduced its hobby computer, the Fujitsu Micro 8, or FM-8, which later evolved into the FM-7 and FM-77 series, and eventually the FM-TOWNS series. Though everyone agreed that FM-7/77 series excelled in terms of performance and multimedia capabilities, it was NEC's PC-9801 which became the dominant, albeit most boring, computer in Japan. Despite the clearly rising tide of multimedia PCs in the mid-1990s, it was clear to users of FM-TOWNS and Sharp's X68000 that the PC-9801 series was too incapable to survive the wave. Soji Yamakawa was one of the programmers who was dreaming of the eternal growth of the 21st century and fought fiercely to defeat PC-9801 to save the culture of Japanese computers, learning 6809 and 80386 assembly and C programming along the way. Come see some of the few surviving Fujitsu Micro units in operation.

Games and Demos Before the Microprocessor

Although the demoscene as we know it dates to the era of mass market home computers and video games only became commercially viable in the 1970s, both demos and videos games are much older. From "Tennis for Two" to "Munching Squares" to "Colossal Cave Adventure", David Sisson will cover the origins of both in the vacuum tube era and how they developed on mainframes and minicomputers in the 1960s and 1970s before being adapted to microprocessor-based hardware.

Inside a Demotool

Demotools are a great way to get started in the scene. They handle the logistics so you can concentrate on your effects and art. But how do they work their magic? cxw is back to talk about the boilerplate of a demo and how demotools take care of it. He will show examples from a livecoding tool he released this year. If you are interested in taking the next step in your demomaking, or are curious about how your tools work, remember: the real party is under the hood!

Retro Gaming

Our yearly retro gaming room returns! Play from hundreds of the games you fondly remember on authentic hardware, including:

Vectrex -- Star Trek, Pole Position, Spike, and every other game made for the system!

...and many more platforms, consoles, and games (far too many to list!)

Retro Gaming Tournament

We'll be running a tournament in our gaming room. Do you have what it takes to be the best?

Demoscene Fun

Come celebrate the spirit of the Demoscene with live screenings and competitions.

Demo Authoring Competition

No demo party is complete without the chance to write your own demos and submit them to be screened and voted on by the audience! We have several categories - check the compos page for more info.

Live Demo Screenings

Throughout the weekend, we'll be offering live showings of demos running on real machines, old and new, from the CMU Computer Club's large collection -- Amiga, Atari, Commodore, PC, you name it! We'll be showing both eternal classics and recent releases. Check the schedule for more details and times!

Rave Demos

Loud, flashy, and generally seizure-inducing, rave demos are the demoscene's link to the techno/rave culture it grew up within. These might not be for everyone, but they definitely have devoted fans. We'll be giving these their own room for your enjoyment!